I've been dreaming about ballet and ballerinas... it always happens around this time of year, with all the holiday ballets (Swan Lake, Nutcracker) being advertised.

As a little girl, I had my own visions of dancing around in beautiful slippers and pink tulle tutu, with a tiara on my dainty head....

I begged my mother for lessons, but we could not afford them. As refugees to the USA and not speaking the language, my parents struggled for many years just to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. Little did I know that my childish request for ballet lessons broke my mother's heart -- I would find this about many, many years later (about 30 or so). I assured Mami that their inability to pay for lessons really did not do any damage, nor diminish my enjoyment of my youth. It was a childhood fantasy....the same as my dream of being a beautiful bride, marching the down the aisle... or of owning a pony... or even having a twin sister (lol).

Doesn't almost every little girl dream of being a ballerina?

I recently acquired a couple of pairs of gentle used pointe shoes and I immediately knew what I wanted to do with them...

One pair was adorned with layers of pink tulle and rhinestones.... the other with silk ribbon and tiny, dainty pink millinery.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Beading, wires, clasps, pliers (how many different kinds are there?!?).... the whole jewelry-making experience has been one that I have been wanting to jump right into; but was afraid to. Maybe "afraid" is not the right choice of words... more like "I think I really, really suck at it, because everytime I pick up one of those plier thingies, I break out in hives." hmmmm.

I have dabbled a bit. Enough to know that I don't have a "natural" aptitude for it. It will take Work - lots of it - for me to become skillful with the pliers. I love the beading, the actual designing of the piece (after all, repurposing vintage jewelry into newer pieces has always been at the back of my mind when I purchase them).... but getting from A (materials) to Z (finished piece) is where I have some issues.

Lucky Me has had the opportunity to attend Karla's BirdSong event twice now. Both times, we've had a project which involved jewelry-making. Last year, I was fortunate to meet and sit next to the loveliest and most patient of all ladies, Lee, who held my hand along the way and never tired of explaining things to me. Don't get me wrong - the instructors for the classes were fabulous - the issue was on my end. Somehow, my hands couldn't perform the simple turning and twisting techniques that are required to produce a decent piece of jewelry. Oh, and did I mention that when I finally managed to finish something, the wiring seems to look a bit worse-for-wear? Not my proudest moment, for sure.

This past June, I attended BirdSong 4, and once again, a jewelry project was on the agenda. This time, a gorgeous bracelet designed by the incredibly talented Andrea Singarella. Talk about raising the bar!

I decided to stop being such a baby.... I mean, how many chances does one get to take a class from Andrea? So I took a deep breath.... and jumped in. I survived, thanks to Andrea's instructions, encouragement, and help from my table companions.

The end result was a wearable bracelet. Maybe not perfect - but definitely wearable and maybe (even) beautiful.

I was beaming and feeling just a tiny bit proud of myself.

So, dear friends, where does the story end?

The good news is that it doesn't end. I have been playing with pliers, wires and beads... and while I'm still very much a Novice, my hands are getting better at the twisting and turning techniques.

Here are a couple of my "novice" projects for your enjoyment.

..a necklace I have been working on...most of it is re-purposed sections from vintage pieces.

..a bracelet I made for my daughter. My inspiration was the bracelet we made at BirdSong4... this one combines newer and vintage pieces/beads.

Something else I discovered on this adventure.... photographing jewelry is really tough! The lighting has to be just right, and capturing the details is tricky.

My paper, textile, and mixed media projects have taken a back burner. My work table has been completely taken over by jewelry making. And the best part is that I no longer break out in hives when I see pliers....

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Mine is off to a wonderfully creative start! I cleared my schedule of all swaps and art group "to do's" so I could dedicate this summer to just creating to my heart's content... seeing where it leads me.

To start off with, I have so many beautiful vintage images that I had been itching to play with. I've combined them with my other passions (ribbons, lace, millinery) to create romantic, frou-frou, and feminine cards.

I'm calling them my "pretty fancy tags" because they are "pretty" and "fancy" or "pretty fancy!"

Some were made for friends, others are now available in my shoppe.

My next adventure will take me into the jewelry-making arena... stay tuned. I'm also working on a couple of projects to submit for publication... and several wedding custom orders.

In between all that, my husband and I have been invited to the Hamptons for the July 4th weekend, and my sweet mother and I are planning a girls' roadtrip to Texas in July... yay!

I'm just wanting to enjoy each day as it comes... and keep my fingers crossed that the summer doesn't fly by too quickly!

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

I was first introduced to the dainty, vintage pincushion project via a swap I participated in a while back. The idea was to select a "base" for out pincushion (think tiny teacup, planter, toothpick holder, etc.), add padding to the opening to create a pincushion, then embellish to your heart's content!

The results were adorable, not to mention practical. It is also one of those "instant gratification" projects that you can finish in one sitting and don't have to pre-plan.

If you do any type of crafting, you will probably need a pincushion (or two) at some point!

I was hooked!

I scoured my "inventory" for tiny containers I could use...

~a shoe with a tiny doggy~

~a sweet yellow/white swan.~

~a tiny teacup/saucer~

~a cute blue basket~

They all received a makeover and are now enjoying a second life as a pincushion in one of my swap friends' home.

There were many others..... then my temporary addiction wore off.

Until recently, when I was coming up with ideas for swaps to host for Mother's Day in our Mixed Media Artists Guild group. The dainty pincushions sprang to mind... and off I went!

My swap partner this time around was the very talented JoAnne. I wanted to make something really special for her and I didn't have anything in my inventory that was "worthy."

When I saw this dainty little shoe, with it's soft blue shade and the faded gold trim, I just knew I had found the perfect base for JoAnne's pincushion! It reminded me of Marie Antoinette... and I know that JoAnne loves all things Marie.

It was so pretty already that I didn't have to add much ~ some pretty vintage lace for the pincushion, silk ribbon in a matching shade, vintage pearls...

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Every single photo has been purchased with the intent of using in a project of some sort. They all tell a story... whether it's a lovely lady gazing into the horizon, a new bride looking "not so in love," children with their mothers.

I once had the idea of taking some of the photos and writing a story around them; wouldn't that be fun?

I haven't pursued that idea yet, but it's on my "to do someday" list.

Needless to say, I cannot pass up the opportunity to dig through hundreds of photos at antiques shops, sometimes estate sales... looking for those "special" ones. Of course, the price has to be right as well (I won't pay more than $1 apiece, not matter how pretty the image!).

I recently purchased these two beauties at Junk Bonanza.

Junk Bonanza is always a fun event. There is something for everyone...whether it is a large furniture piece you are looking for, garden art, true antiques, "junk" antiques, repurposed junk, handmade OOAK jewelry pieces... you name it, it's there!

For me, JB is all about the little things. I love to dig for diamonds...so to speak. I never come home with big pieces; my biggest purchase (size-wise) this year was a very unique birdhouse (photos later).

Some of my other finds this year:

I was instantly attracted to this box... loved the cameo-like image on the cover. Its color is a soft, faded peachy-cream.

The price tag read "scarf in a box, $2" and I was sold before even seeing the scarf.

It turns out, the scarf is okay, but it could have been the ugliest scarf on Earth and I would have still purchased the box.

I think I offended the dealer a tiny bit, when I mentioned this (my love of the box, not so much of the scarf).

I also found lots of pretty buttons for reasonable prices.

One of my favorite shops of all-time, Rose Mille in Stillwater, was there. Michelle has the prettiest booth ever~ with tons of millinery, ribbons, trim~ many of which she gets directly from France. They closed their bricks-n-mortar shop a few months back, but all of her merchandise is still available online and soon, via occasional sales.

Her "new" millinery looks and feels vintage, and I always end up purchasing a few sprigs to use for those special projects.

Another little find was this dainty berry bowl... I need another dainty bowl as much as I need a hole in my head, but I couldn't put it down!

What is it with me and little pink, delicate, flowery bowls?!?

Another sweet purchase was this little lady...

she stands all of 3 inches tall.

Isn't she sweet?

The hat, the dress, the dark hair...reminded me of "Gone with the Wind" ~ which is my all-time favorite movie. Of course I had to bring her home!